11-15-2012, 11:38 AM
I remember crying with my older sister when Baby Fae died at Loma Linda hospital on 15 November 1984. There was a story on the 8 pm news every night here from the day she had the transplant til the day she died (and lots of religious-oriented debate regarding "Gods Way"). We just got invested and wanted her to make it.
The infant, named Baby Fae by doctors to protect her parents' anonymity, was born with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome. On October 26, Bailey performed the world's first baboon-to-human heart transplant, replacing the 14-day-old infant's defective heart with the healthy, walnut-size heart of a young baboon. Baby Fae survived the dangerous operation, and her subsequent struggle for life received international attention.
After living longer than any other human recipient of an animal heart, Baby Fae's body made a concerted effort to reject the alien transplant. Doctors were forced to increase dosages of an immuno-suppressive drug, which caused kidney failure. Ultimately, doctors were defeated by the swift onset of heart failure, and on November 15 Baby Fae died, after holding on for 20 days.
The infant, named Baby Fae by doctors to protect her parents' anonymity, was born with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome. On October 26, Bailey performed the world's first baboon-to-human heart transplant, replacing the 14-day-old infant's defective heart with the healthy, walnut-size heart of a young baboon. Baby Fae survived the dangerous operation, and her subsequent struggle for life received international attention.
After living longer than any other human recipient of an animal heart, Baby Fae's body made a concerted effort to reject the alien transplant. Doctors were forced to increase dosages of an immuno-suppressive drug, which caused kidney failure. Ultimately, doctors were defeated by the swift onset of heart failure, and on November 15 Baby Fae died, after holding on for 20 days.